This is it, The Apocalypse
by ex machinas
Summary: "I believe the world is burning to the ground, all of this is coming to an end, I guess we're gonna find out. Let's see how far we've come." I sat down on the street and took a look at myself, you know the world is headed for hell. Say your goodbyes if you've got someone you can say goodbye to. Nick/OC Season One. T for Language (HIATUS)
1. Chapter 1

**Hello, everyone!** **PLEASE READ THIS AUTHOR'S NOTE**

I present to you, _This is it, The Apocalypse_ , that ventures the life of Clara Evans, Nick Clark's girlfriend. Please give this story a chance. It encompasses the entire first season, in Clara's point-of-view. I will be writing another after Season 2.

To everyone who reads **Leia: Goddess of Thunder** and **Heiress** : Thank you for supporting me, I appreciate it but I feel like these two fanfic babies are precious and I really brainstorm on everything, character developments, dialogues, and the like. So, please be patient. UNI sucks.

And to everyone who wants to give this story a chance, please review, I want to know what you think of this story so far. I will really appreciate it. This will be updated every Monday (I hope so). Please leave reviews!

I do not own Fear the Walking Dead, and the chapter names are lyrics to Matchbox20's How Far We've Come.

Without further ado, _This is it, The Apocalypse_.

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 **Chapter 1: At the Start of the End of the World**

I woke up to the knocking on the door. There was a huge urge to ignore it and just sink further into the comforts of the bed, but when I heard my name being called repeatedly, I groaned.

"Clara!"

"What!"

"You're gonna be late for school!"

I sighed, slumping down the bed. Opening an eye, I struggled to look at the bed across the room. Empty. Alicia was already out. "God damn it," I cursed, reluctantly peeling myself off the bed.

I opened the door, to see Travis wrapping his arms around Madison's waist. Squinting, I held out a yawn, causing the two of them to look at me. "Clara," Madison lifted a plate of loaf, "Come have breakfast."

Madison and Travis were kind enough to let me crash in their place for about a week. My parents were gone for almost a month after winning an All-Expense-Paid-Round-the-World-Trip ticket. Mom and Dad were really excited, but it was only a trip for two. Besides, I refused to go. I had school anyway. Alicia wasn't in sight, I noticed, so she must be in the bathroom. She was like my younger sister, having known each other for almost five years. Lately, I felt like she was becoming like a true sister to me, with me living with them and all of us trying to get some news on Nick.

The shrill ringing of the phone caused all three of us to stare at it, hoping that it would be Nick. I hadn't seen him in about a month, not since he decided to disappear one day after college. Alicia, still wrapped in a towel, brown hair dripping wet, stood beside me. "Is that Nick?" she whispered. I said nothing.

Travis picked the phone up, said his hello. After listening to the other end of the phone, he thanked them and hung up. We looked at him expectantly.

"Travis," I said, softly, "Is it him?"

He turned to Madison. "No. It's the hospital. He's…he's been in an accident."

Madison groaned, half in despair, half in relief. She turned and hurriedly stuffed the bread back into its plastic, turning to me and Alicia, "You two, get ready. We're going to the hospital."

I turned to Travis, "Nick, is he alright?"

He shrugged, "He's alive."

I took a quick shower and just threw on whatever was on the top of the closet. Alicia has somehow emptied a quarter of her closet and replaced it with the clothes I left when I stayed there sometimes. Usually though, before, my clothes were mostly in Nick's room.

Nick and I met when we were fourteen. It was a pivotal year for the both of us; Nick was trying to deal with their dad's death and me trying to adjust to having moved to Los Angeles. We grew close, after Madison introduced themselves to my family and Nick got forced into helping us carry our stuff into the house. Somewhere in between us carrying the sala set and all my books, I found out that we were gonna be in the same school and class together. I kept following him around school on my first day. But it wasn't until he drunkenly climbed up my room through the window and asked me out to prom (and falling down the said window) did I realize what kind of year I was in for.

Madison used to tell me that I was one of the things anchoring Nick to the ground. Now, as I passed his empty room, I don't know if it's true.

We squeezed into the car, Alicia was complaining about the bread. Travis was reminding me about the university's rule on unexcused absences and I waved it off with a thanks, telling him that I would attend my classes the next day.

I couldn't believe I was going to see Nick again.

Alicia and I were trailing behind Travis as Madison got filled in with Nick's condition. Normally, I would be the first to go through the door, but now, I wasn't so sure if I was ready. I haven't seen him in a month, and now I just hear him getting run over by cars?

"You still wanna work here?" Alicia asked me. I gave her a shrug. I have an aunt, Irene Stanley, an anesthesiologist, who worked in that particular hospital as well. Sometimes, she came to the university during some forums on pharmaceutical drugs and the like. My mind wasn't even clear anymore. It was shrouded with the thought of being near Nick again, me thinking of what to say to him. In front of me, I heard the nurse say that the police were there. We proceeded, the nurse watching us walk passed him.

Madison was looking pissed as she snapped at the police officers to get out of the room. I was on the doorway, leaning against the frame. Alicia was standing in front of me, blocking myself from his view. There he was, looking tired as shit, head bruised, hands tied to the side of the bed. The nurse was said that witnesses found him delusional on the road, 'running in traffic with intent'. The officers glanced at me for a second, then one asked, "You his sister?"

"Girlfriend," I corrected.

"Best if you stay away," he whispered conspiratorially, "That kid looks fucked up."

I crossed my arms over my chest as I watched his mother trying her best not to yell at him after he said a quip.

"Can you just leave me alone?" I heard him whine.

"There's an idea," Alicia remarked.

Travis turned to her. "Alicia, not helpful." She looked at him, pissed, "I'm not trying to help."

Madison turned to her daughter, "You know what? Go to the car. Go. Take Clara with you."

I saw Nick's eyes widening, "Clara's here?" He was straining his neck to find me.

At that moment, Travis told everyone to calm down, Nick deliriously telling us to leave him alone. I wasn't sure if he did see me, but I remained there, silent.

Alicia sighed in exasperation and turned to leave the room. "Let's go." She pulled at my arm.

"No," I shook my head, whispering to her, "I'm gonna stay here for a little while." Alicia nodded and walked out of the room.

Travis' phone rang, and he left, excusing himself. Madison glanced at me, as I was still leaning against the doorframe, neither in nor out of the room. She moved to sit on Nick's bed, whispering to him.

I saw Nick slightly shaking his head, "Can I…uh…can I talk to Clara for a minute, mom?" He turned to look at me, and in his face I saw relief. Maybe he was relieved to see me stay, unlike his sister. Madison looked at me, and the look on her face was asking permission. _Is it okay if my son wants to talk to you?_ I gave her a slight nod, and she leaned in to kiss Nick's forehead and excused herself.

Now, it was just me and him. Me neither out nor in.

"Clara." His voice sounded faint, and so fatigued, that I was worried that he might pass out. He was drawling the words that came out of his mouth and I was scared to talk to him in fear that he might be even more fatigued. "Come inside."

Slowly, I walked towards him and stopped at the foot of the bed. From there I could see his restraints, his bruises, and his tired, pale face in full view. His hair was unwashed and unkept, and he was wearing a goddamn smile like he wasn't hospitalized and restrained at all.

"Hi, baby."

I closed my eyes to the sound of his voice. "Don't," I shook my head at him.

His smile dropped when he saw what I wanted him to see. I was relieved to see him, yes, but I was also disappointed, angry, sad.

"You were gone for a month," I said to him. He turned away, exhaling from his nose. "You were gone for a month, and you just say 'hi, baby' like this is something I should be happy about?"

He opened his mouth to speak, but I knew it was going to be some kind of bullshit apology. I didn't want to hear it, not now. "Look, I'm sor—"

"I knew where you were, Nicholas." I told him. He grimaced when I called him by his full name, knowing that it meant that I was upset. "Gloria? Is she familiar?"

He stiffened. "You know her?"

I nodded. "Three weeks ago, a student from my program approached me at the library. She said she knew where you were and she'd tell me if I get her something from Dr. Stanley's clinic. I didn't know why she'd think that I knew Dr. Stanley, but then you must have told her about my aunt.

"You've been gone for a month, Nicholas, shooting up heroin and fucking Gloria Anderson. Then you smile at me now and say 'hi baby'?"

Suddenly, the door threw open and there was Madison and a nurse. I turned to excuse myself from them and left the room, ignoring Nick's soft and tired pleas to keep me a little longer.

"Hey," Alicia was sitting on a chair, feet curled under her body. She pulled out an earbud, "Where are you going?"

"Just coffee."

"You staying here?" She inclined her head to the door of Nick's ward.

"Yeah," I nodded, "I'm gonna go visit Aunt Irene for a moment. You wanna come?"

"No, I'm good." She replaced her earbud and waved a little.

After getting my coffee, I was walking to the nurses' station with a coffee cup on one hand and a phone against my ear. I tried calling the number my mother and father gave me two days ago—they're in Berlin for a couple days—but there was no answer. I tried calling it again as I stood in front of the station. "Good morning, is Dr. Stanley in?"

The blonde nurse looked from her computer, "Yes, who are you?"

"Just her niece."

The nurse nodded, "She's in Anesthesia."

I said my thanks and went to go see my aunt.

Aunt Irene and I weren't particularly close; she's my Dad's sister and an accomplished person at a young age. She was in her mid-thirties and unmarried. She had that fiery red hair that she always tied down to a ponytail, and glasses, which made her look smarter than she already was. I rarely got to see her, mostly because she was in the hospital for, sometimes, more than two days straight. Also, she lived on the other side of the city. Now, it never hurt to visit, my dad has asked her to reach out to me while they were gone. Dad had actually asked Madison to check up on me while they were gone, of course, but Aunt Irene was still my aunt.

"Hey, Clara," she greeted from her table, smiling at me. "Hi, Aunt Irene." I gave her a short wave. There were other doctors in the department as well, but they were either resting, or too busy.

"You skipped school?"

"Yeah," I nodded, my head down. I didn't want to tell her about Nick, she never liked him. Not that her opinion mattered, but she just didn't want me associating with 'guys who use the pain to escape and neglect the people they love'. But by the look on her face, she had figured it out. "It's Nick. We found him."

"I know. I heard." She whispered. I said nothing. "Look, Clara, I know I said this a lot of times but Nick is—"

"Bad news," I finished for her. "I know. You did say that a lot of times."

"You never listen, Clara."

I sighed, starting to get annoyed by the tone she was using on me. Like she was talking to a child, explaining again and again that they only get mad at you because they love you. "Look, I just wanted to ask if you could come over for dinner. The house is completely empty—and mom…" I sighed, "She's not answering the phone."

"Where do you sleep then?"

"Madison's."

"Right." She grimaced. "Clara, honey, I'm working my ass here for days. With the flu going on—I'm sorry, sweetheart."

"Okay," I shrugged, "See you soon, I guess."

She nodded. "Call me."

I returned to Nick's room—which he was sharing with an old man—to find that Travis wasn't there. He texted me earlier that he'll be staying to keep watch of Nick and to inform me that he got me some clothes if I wanted to stay for the night. The person on the bed saw me and drew a smile. "Hey bab—Clara."

"Where the hell is Travis?"

He gave a small shrug. "I think he went to the church. We shoot up there."

From this I figured that he told Travis some elaborate lie so that he could be gone for some time. "Jesus Christ, Nick, what did you tell him now? You were hallucinating! You were high."

"I just…" he sighed, voice dropping down to a whisper. "Just want to know if I saw was real. Okay? Because if it's all in head…then I'm going—like—batshit crazy."

I stare at him, noticing how tired he was looking, and moved to the right side of his bed. "How about you rest up, yeah?"

His right hand reached for my own and he squeezed it. My heart jumped from the contact. I haven't seen him, nor felt his touch for a month now, and yet, he still had an effect on my body. Nick closed his eyes and hummed. "I missed you, baby. I'm sorry."

I gingerly swept the hair from his forehead, relieved that color was coming back to him, albeit slowly. I leaned over and pressed a kiss on his forehead and smiled when I saw him visibly relax. I slowly detached my hand from his, and sat on the chair near the window.


	2. Chapter 2

Thanks to everyone who followed/favorited and reviewed!

It's technically Tuesday here, the connection's so bad we had to wait for the carrier to reset it.

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 **Ch2: It's feeling just like every other morning**

The next morning, I woke up to Alicia shaking me. "Hey, Clara. Hey!"

"What?" I asked groggily, sitting up. My hair must've looked like a crowd had pulled on it in all directions, and I discretely wiped the drool off the side of my mouth.

I saw Nick stirring on the bed, and Madison—I hadn't notice her come in last night—was being woken up by Travis. This made me remember that I was supposed to be someplace else.

"Oh, shit, I have school."

I hurriedly prepared myself, half-muting Madison's 'We're going to be late!' announcement every five minutes. Throughout the week, we barely had any classes: our Chemistry teacher was on her maternity leave and our elective Zoology professor ditched us on exam day, having caught the flu. Other teachers weren't present either. The flu was growing prominent in Los Angeles, and suddenly everyone thinks it's AH1N1 or Ebola.

I was cursing myself for wearing a thin white shirt when my hair was still dripping wet. I had managed to throw all my dirty clothes into the bag Travis had placed on the table and started rummaging my bag for my brush.

"Hey, Clara."

I looked up at him, and forced a smile. "Hey, weirdo." He was on a sitting position; his sister must have adjusted the bed so that he can see around him. "I'm looking for my brush."

"You're gonna be late," he told me.

I zipped my bag closed in frustration. "Yeah, fuck it." I moved to sit on the left side Nick's bed. He still looked tired, but better. His hair was disheveled and looked like he hasn't washed it for days. That might have been true. "If you find my brush you can use it to brush your own hair, Nick."

He smiled tiredly then chuckled. I smiled back at him. Nick was always beautiful, he was an angel. Whatever he had done has always been on him, but sometimes, I couldn't help but blame myself. If I had that power to help him out of it like Madison told me I had, he wouldn't be in this hospital. Sometimes, I just think I haven't been doing my best to help him out of the shithole; that I wasn't important enough that he would choose to leave instead of staying with me.

He raised his hand to reach the back of my neck, and I held my breath. "You'll come back here after school?"

I released the breath I was holding, scooting a little closer towards him. "Of course."

Nick smiled in what looked like relief, and pulled me close to his face until our lips touched. It sent a spiral of butterflies to flutter in a rave inside my stomach, I felt like a bunch of nerves from my lips had traveled through my body and exploded. I shuddered as I kissed him slowly.

Pulling away, he was looking at me like he was thankful and I knew that I get back, we would be talking about what happened since the last time I saw him, and about Gloria.

Madison, Travis and Alicia were waiting outside for me. Alicia was holding a cup of coffee—presumably for me. I looked at them, confused, "What—," I jabbed my thumb in the direction of the hospital doors. "No one's gonna look after him there?"

"I'm staying," Travis answered, and opened the door to the car, "You'll be back after school right?"

"Yeah, of course."

On my third period, Biochemistry, I had slumped down on the chair, head threatening to lurch down in exhaustion. My teacher had informed us mid-lecture that he'd be sending out copies of the lecture to us, so copying it down wasn't necessary. My friends were talking beside and behind me, and I was forced to turn around. "What are you guys talking about?"

"The flu that's been going around," Shannon answered, a phone in her hand. Two more of my friends were trying to look at what was on the screen. I raised an eyebrow, "What about them?"

"It's some kind of disease that'll kill everyone—well, that's what it says here." Dawn piped in.

"What site is that anyway?" I asked them. Eunice snatched the phone out of Shannon's grasp and turned it around for me to see. "It's not CNN," Eunice warned.

"God damn it," I sighed, looking away. It was one of those conspiracy blogs on tumblr, somehow 'collecting sufficient evidence' made people believe its legitimacy. "It's fucking Tumblr, you guys."

Suddenly, there was a shock coming from my right leg. Realizing that it was my phone, I hastily got out of the room and opened it. It was Madison.

"Hey, Maddy."

"Oh, thank god you answered. Clara, where are you?"

"At school, of course. Why?"

There was a pause on the other line. "It's Nick, Clara. He's gone."

I felt like my heart was shooting out of my chest, beating rapidly. "Wh—what do you mean, he's gone?"

"He…he escaped the hospital. We don't know where he is. Clara," Madison sounded distressed and so was I. I took a few breaths, letting Madison hear that I was trying to calm myself down. I couldn't leave school now, it was only the last meeting before the exam. "Okay…okay, so where would he go? Maddy, where would he go?"

"I don't know. I don't know. We're gonna look for him now, but you should just get back so that if he comes home—"

"When he comes home," I corrected her. "Just…let me know if you find him. Please."

"Of course. You too, Clara. If he calls, or anything."

I hung up and got back to class.

Eunice raised a brow when she saw the distress on my face. "What's wrong?"

"Nothing." I shook my head, smiling at her.

When I came home, Alicia wasn't there. I guessed she was with her boyfriend, Matt, so I texted Madison that I was home. Standing out in the lawn, I looked at our house-one I hadn't been on for three days. It was a two-storey house, simple and plain. But it was warm, and it made me remember to try to contact my parents. Trying the number my mom sent me again, I sighed when there was no answer.

There was lasagna on the fridge. I reheated it and started scanning at my lessons my teacher sent us, phone on the table. Just in case Nick decided to call me. Being away from Nick was like me living another life—I felt like the world was slowly adjusting to me living without Nick, but I refused to live in it if he's not a part of my life. Everyone wanted to help him, but somehow, it always goes back to him being gone for months, high on drugs.

My phone rang and I jumped to see who the person was, but it was just Dawn from school.

 _'Vid of police attacked by man. Check it out.'_

 _'CHECK THIS OUT! KILL SHOT!'_

The first video was a bird's eye view of the freeway, where a man in a stretcher, who I presumed dead, was being attended to by a medic. Then, the dead man's arm swung around the medic and engulfed him into a fierce hug. But I suddenly realized that the medic wasn't being hugged, he was being attacked. The man rolled them over so that he was straddling the medic, until a police shoved him out of the way. A few more police officers came to view and started beating the guy. When the video began showing the officers unloading on him, I closed the video and moved to the other one.

The second video was taken by a cameraman who looked like he was standing behind the officers. The feed was from the same event, the officers unloading on him. But the thing was, he still kept coming, like the bullets didn't hurt him. I started feeling sick and as I was about to close it, the guy was shot on the head. He never came back.

I quickly sent a message to Dawn. _'Holy shit what the fuck is this?'_

 _'Freeway. Probs have articles about it tmr.'_

I closed the phone when I heard Travis' Ford engine revving, before being turned off. Alicia was with them.

"Hey were you on the freeway?" I asked them. "What happened?"

"I don't know," Travis answered, "We took another way, traffic was jammed."

The next day and still no sign of Nick. I went to school and we started talking about the videos Dawn sent us.

"That was horrible, the way they just fucking shot at him like he's made of steel," Eunice commented.

"It's weird, though. Multiple shots to the body, but that man wasn't going down." Shannon replied.

"Yeah—super creepy," I added, "He must've been high or something. To numb the pain. Or whatever."

Zoology lab had us dissect and label the muscular system of cats and turtles. I was gently rattling the turtle skeleton while the others were pointing out the parts of the skeletal system when my phone rang. Again, I rushed out of the lab and seeing that it was unregistered, I answered it, hoping it was Nick.

"Hello?"

"Hey, baby, it's me," a voice rang. It was Nick. "I…I need you. Your help."

"Jesus Christ, Nick, where the fuck are you?"

"I…I…uh," he was stuttering, sounding very disturbed, very scared.

"Hey, Nick," I was speaking to him softly, "Hey, calm down."

I could hear him catching his breath, "Baby, just come quick, I'm at the storm drain. Beneath the overpass. Just…meet me at the street before."

"Okay…okay," I said, slowly trying to think of an excuse to cut class. I could call Travis and Madison, to come pick me up. "Babe, Nick, listen to me. I'm coming there, you hear me?"

"Yeah," he said shakily. He sounded so distressed, so out of his mind and I was panicked. "Pl—please don't bring anyone, Clara. Please."

I hang up and called Madison. Whatever got Nick so riled up, I wouldn't be able to help him a lot. He needed his mother. "Madison! Nick, he called."

"Oh god, where is he?"

"I'll tell you, but you have to pick me up now."

"Alright," Madison sighed, "We'll be there in 20 minutes."

Lucky for me, I had a free period when they arrived, so I didn't have to walk out in the middle of the class. Literature sucked bigtime, anyway.

"What's going on, Clara? Where are you going?" Shannon asked.

"It's Nick."

"Your boyfriend?"

I nodded. "He just…needs us to come get him." I slung my bag over one shoulder and gave them a small wave. "See you, guys."

A little while later Travis and Madison came and I raced to them, panting.

Madison was outside the main entrance and we were met by Travis had an arm over the door of his Ford. He looked worried. Madison had a hand gripping my arm tightly. "Where is he? Where's Nick?"

I got in the truck, Travis and Madison slamming the doors shut, and Travis was starting the engine. "The storm drain under the overpass. He's at the street before that. Maddy, he sounded distressed, I got scared."

We were all silent and worried. Travis was speeding up towards the destination and Madison was clenching and unclenching her fists. I stayed silent, the fear and worry looming over us as we finally approached the street we were supposed to meet. Travis honked the horn twice and we saw him emerge from behind a wall. I noticed that he had a cigarette between his fingers. When he finally saw who I brought, I heard him complain. "No, no no. No, no, no. I said not to bring anyone. Clara, I told you not to bring anyone."

We hastily got out of the car, Madison demanding him to tell us where he had been. He ignored her and grabbed me by the shoulders, repeatedly saying that I shouldn't have brought anyone.

"Nick, hey," I moved away from his hold and held his hands, "It's okay, babe. Are you alright? What's wrong, Nick?"

Travis pushed me aside and grabbed Nick. Nick started to whisper in his ear, I couldn't hear any of it, but I heard Travis telling Nick to get inside the car.

"Okay, so he…he pulled a gun on me."

"Who?" Travis asked. He had his hands on Nick's shoulders, silently telling him to spill it out.

"…He pulled a gun on me and he tried to kill me…I wanted to know…what was in the shit he gave me, you know?" His voice broke, hands shaking and I've never seen Nicholas as frightened as he was.

"Nicholas," I called him, causing his wild eyes to meet mine, "What are you talking about?"

"Calvin." He stated. "I…I shot Calvin."

"Calvin?" Travis asked him.

"…I killed Calvin."

"Where's Calvin?" Madison sounded irritated, and for a second I thought Nick was hallucinating. But then I noticed the clothes he was wearing, too dirty and big for him, his head still bruised, and his eyes—so dark and scared that it's a look in him that good people should never have to wear.

His hand was shaking when he pointed to the direction of the storm drain.

"Okay," Madison said, "Get in the car. We're going there."

I stood there, looking at the boy I love, shaking in fear. I wrapped an arm around his shoulders, and he curled next to me, his arms wrapped around my waist tightly. "It's alright, baby. It's okay."

As we passed through the dark tunnel leading to the drain, Travis was reminding Nick that what he did was self-defense. Nick said nothing, he was leaning his head on my shoulder, both arms around my waist. I was gently running my thumb over the backside of his hand, knowing that it comforted him. We stopped at the end of the tunnel, and, confirming Nick's story, I saw a car that matched Calvin's. The front doors were open. Madison and Travis got out, the first one confirmed that it was indeed Calvin's car. I was waiting for Nick to get out, and as he stumbled outside, he noticed something.

He ran towards the car.

"Calvin!" Madison called. "Where is he?"

"There's no one here," Travis said. I stood beside him, watching as Nick frantically searched the car, insisting that Calvin was just there. I noticed the gun under the car just as Nick was crawling around it. Travis turned to me, handing me his phone. "Call Calvin. And get in the truck."

Turning to Nick again, I saw him collapsing onto the cement, in tears, his mother embracing him as he insisted that Calvin was there. I got in the truck and rang Calvin over and over, but there was no reply. I watched as they got in, Nick looking very distraught, and I raised a hand to brush the hair from his forehead. "Nick," I whispered his name.

"He was just there, Clara…I—I shot him… Calvin…"

I moved closer to him so that I can embrace him, and he wrapped his arms around me. "I believe you, baby. But you need to rest, okay?"

No answer.

"Okay, Nick?" I repeated. I felt him nod just as Travis was backing out of the tunnel.

I looked up when Travis hit the brake. "Holy shit."

Madison gasped. "Oh my god."

"What's wrong?" I turned around to look at what Travis was looking at. It was a man, although his face couldn't be seen as he was standing in front of the light and the lights of the car weren't bright enough to illuminate his face but my guess that it was Calvin.

"Clara, Nick, stay here, don't move." Travis slammed the door shut, and Nick shot up, turning around.

As the couple approached Calvin, I noticed that he was staggering rather than walking. He looked like he was sleepwalking and then I saw a huge stain of red on his shirt. "Nick? What's wrong with him?"

"No, no, no," Nick was fully turned, looking at the back of the truck on his knees. "Calvin's dead. Mom! Mom! He'll kill you. Mom!"

"What the fuck is that thing, Nick?!" I started to panic, as Calvin was coming into full view, he didn't look quite… human.

I let out a scream when I saw Calvin move to latch his teeth onto Madison's arm. Madison dodged and Travis pushed her away from Calvin.

"Nick! Fuck, do something!" I stared at Nick's panicked expression and I scooted over to the driver's seat. "What—what do I do?!" Nick must've broken out of his shock and turned to me panicking as I turned the engine on.

"Hurry, let's change," he said and I practically flew to the shotgun so that he can occupy the driver's seat.

"He's attacking Travis!" I exclaimed, and Nick revved the engine and backed away towards Calvin and practically ran him over. I could hear the bones cracking and breaking as we ran through him like a speed bump. "Holy fuck."

"Shit." Nick had his hands on his head in shock, leaning against the seat while I had my hands on the dashboard, eyeing Calvin's corpse. Then, to my horror, the dead body started to stand up, broken bones and all.

Nick turned the engine on again and hit Calvin, making him fall against the bumper. I gave out a scream of terror when the corpse looked up, growling and started reaching for us. His eyes were glassy yet they seemed to stare at me like I was…food.

Almost reaching the end of the tunnel, I told Nick to hit the brakes. He did, causing the corpse to fly a few feet away from us, his foot separating from his body.

Nick moved to get out of the car and I started following suite, when he turned to me and exclaimed, "Stay here!"

I nodded weakly, too scared to see the horror lying not far from us. Madison and Travis rushed beside Nick and we all witnessed the corpse turn towards us and growl, its lower jaw nowhere to be seen.

I saw them making a quick conversation then all of them rushing back to the car. Travis started backing away like his life depended on it and I was still shaking.

"Th—that thing's still alive. What…what do we do?"

"I don't know," Madison answered, still looking shaken, "But we have to have Alicia first."

"And Chris." Travis added.

I turned to Nick, and with the look we shared, I knew that things weren't going to be the same anymore.


	3. Chapter 3

Thank you to all who favorited, followed and reviewed this story. I personally think that my writing skills are very subpar and it could be better but thank you for sticking with me. This chapter only has 2000 words, and I will try to follow up the rest over the week, if I can. Had exams last week I was too drained, but hopefully I can fill this in fast.

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 **Ch 3: The cars are moving like half a mile an hour**

Travis was speeding home.

The four of us were panicking, Nick had remarked about the blood stain on the bumper, but everyone else was silent and shocked. We almost got crushed by a ten-wheeler on our way out of the tunnel, but we decided not to get mad at Travis, who was trying to call his son, Chris.

I brought a hand to massage my temple, trying to forget the horror I just witnessed. We were still trying to work out things with Nick and try to make him stop _-for good_ this time-and now we were in the middle of something we've never seen before. From my train of thoughts, I remembered something that I should've done the moment we exited the tunnel.

"Oh shit." I sat up and pulled my phone out from my pocket. Nick was switching the radio channels, trying to listen to the news for something that could explain what we just saw. He turned to me, leaning back to the seat. "What's wrong?"

"Mom and Dad," I brought my phone to my ear. "I haven't heard from them and this…this thing could have been from other countries." The phone kept ringing, but no one answered.

Nick sighed. "No one's talking about this," he motioned at the radio. "No one's saying anything."

"We need to get away from the city," Travis remarked. I noticed him white-knuckling the steering wheel, and concluded that he was as pretty shaken up and concerned as the rest of us. "We need to get away from people. Just grab Alicia, Liza, Chris…and just go...until we know what this thing is."

"The desert," Madison asked. Travis nodded, "It'll be okay there, we'll be safe."

I knew that they were going to bring me along—I was family—but the thought of leaving behind the house…my parents coming home and noticing that I wasn't there—horrified me. I had to go get my aunt. That way, we could try to reach my parents through an embassy or in some other way, and tell them what the hell was going on and where we were headed in the meantime.

"Travis, you gotta drop me at the hospital." I turned to him. He glanced at me, tight-lipped and shook his head. He wasn't gonna allow me to go get my aunt.

"Clara, it's not safe." Madison pointed out.

"I know! Whatever the heck is going on, it's weird and it's dangerous." I said. "If we're leaving, I'm taking my aunt with us."

"Clara," Nick said warningly. He looked at me like I was crazy, like I was the one high on drugs. "We can just…call her. Okay? Tell her to come to the house."

"No! Okay," I snapped at him, "Just drop me off to the hospital. I'll get her, get some groceries and we'll come back to the house. She's got a car."

Travis eyed me. "What if Irene's not even there? What if she's home, resting? You haven't even called her."

I glanced at my phone. Madison was talking to Alicia, and I'd heard that she was with Matt, but I was tuning it out. I dialed my aunt's number, gritting my teeth as it began to ring.

"Clara?" Aunt Irene sounded confused for a moment, like she hadn't expected me to call her at all. I hardly ever called her, actually, she did all the checking up. I visit her whenever I felt like it, but most of the time I wouldn't tell her I was visiting. I was that person who wouldn't really say anything until someone asked me. "What's wrong?"

"Where are you?" I asked her. Travis was eyeing me, silently trying to listen to the conversation as the car changed course and was heading down to Matt's, which I guessed, where Alicia was as of the moment.

"At the hospital—listen, honey I have a surgery in three hours, call me later, okay?"

"No!" I exclaimed. "Hey, I'm coming over."

"Clara, I—" I hang up, and turned to Travis, asking him to pull over. The hospital was about twenty blocks from where we were, but if they wanted to go get Alicia as soon as possible, I'd run if I have to.

Nick didn't want me to go. He sounded so paranoid—for good reason—but Madison was silent, looking reluctant. Travis relented and I practically threw the door open and ran towards the hospital.

My chest was burning. I wasn't particularly the most athletic person in my school. I did exercise, but my legs were shaking, threatening to give out, my lungs seemed to constrict and not accommodate the oxygen I was inhaling. Hardly anyone paid attention to me as I raced passed buildings and coffee shops. Everyone was just there, like they didn't know what was happening, when I knew that there was something really wrong going on. It felt like the end of the world, but no one else knew.

I was forcing myself to go on, relieved to finally see the hospital in full view. My calves felt like they caught fire, my lungs never expanding. I didn't hate the hospital. The smell of disinfectants bothered a lot of people, but not me. There weren't a lot of people there, just the usual amount that you'd see on a normal day. Finally, I reached the hospital, almost crashing into a nurse and demanded to see Dr. Stanley. She looked annoyed, but asked me to go to the station anyway.

"She's set to have a surgery in about three hours." The nurse answered. "Okay," I said. I was still panting so hard, I raised my hand to wipe out the cold sweat escaping from my forehead. You're okay. Deep breaths, hold, exhale through the mouth. "She's in Anesthesia? I'm her niece." Seeing her nod in confirmation, I thanked her and went to my Aunt.

Irene Stanley was leaning on her chair, reading through files, looking tired and drained, yet still annoyingly beautiful. She looked up when she heard the door close, and her peaceful face turned into a scowl. "Clara, I told you I have a su—"

"Aunt Irene please," I started. I didn't know if I should tell her the truth, I feared she wouldn't believe me. There was a possibility that she would, but knowing her, she wouldn't leave the hospital when nothing has been confirmed. "We need to get home. There's something wrong."

Then, she looked pissed at me. She dropped the files she was reading on the table and leaned back, crossing her arms over her chest. It was a silent gesture for me to go on and explain.

"The virus…and the shootings…I think they're connected." I looked at her, gauging for a reaction, but her face was stoic. "People die…and come back to life—or something. They turn rabid and they attack people—that's why the police are forced to shoot them. It—it's not safe here, we need to get away from people." I looked down and saw that my hands were shaking. I tried to form them into fists but I didn't have a lot of strength. I sat there, trying to clench my hands into fists, getting frustrated that I was too weak to do so. But when I looked up into my aunt's eyes, I knew what she was thinking.

"Clara," her voice was so soft, barely a whisper, as if she was trying to coax me into something, like I was a child. "Are you…high?"

I stiffened. "What? No! Aunt Irene—" But she was quick, suddenly she was there kneeling in front of me, her hands around mine, forcing me to look into her eyes. "Clara. Are. You. High?" She had emphasized every word, noticing how my hands were shaking. She looked disappointed, the annoyance I saw on her face when I came to see her was replaced with sadness.

"I'm not high, Aunt Irene."

She was looking at me like I hadn't said anything.

"Clara, look at me. Look at me." I hated the way she talked, like she was talking to some child, someone who couldn't understand long, drawn-out sentences. "When was the last time you came in contact with heroin?"

I shook my head. Too long. I turned to face her, looking at her dead in the eyes. "I'm. Not. High." One of her hands were on my wrist and I knew what she was trying to do: she was trying to tell if I would lie or not based on my pulse.

She nodded, her head dropping down as she sighed in what I assumed to be relief. She let go of my hands and leaned against her table. "Then what are you doing here?"

That time, I gave out a scoff. "Have you not been listening to a word I was saying?"

"I merely assumed that your half-assed explanation was concocted under the influence of heroin or other recreational drugs."

"We need to evacuate now, Aunt Irene. There's something terribly wrong with the flu-it turns people into some kind of rabid animals. We need to tell mom and dad."

"Clara," she was shaking her head and checked the time on her watch, "Even if what you're saying is true, we are nowhere in a state of emergency. If some kind of epidemic is here, there authorities would have informed us. Now," she was now seated back on her chair, tearing up a piece of paper and writing something on it, "If you really need to call Aiden and Lydia, this is the number they gave me. I have to go, Clara. I have a surgery."

I threw myself on her seat, leaning back as she slammed the door behind her. "God fucking damn it."

In that moment, I didn't know what to do. I felt like I only had three options: one was to wait for my aunt to finish her surgery and drag her ass out of the hospital and drive straight to Madison's. Two, _not_ wait for her to even begin the surgery and somehow haul her reluctant and mad-as-all-hell ass to Madison's. Three, I could just leave her alone. The thing about the third option though, was it didn't feel like the right thing at all. The hospital was full of sick people and one of them-even the patient she was going to attend to-might bite my aunt's face off, or worse, she could be sick herself and result to her dying and becoming one of the animated corpses. But staying there wouldn't be good in terms of self-preservation, I thought to myself.

I stood up, ready to haul my aunt's ass away from the hospital, when my phone vibrated on my phone. I was sprinting towards the door as I pulled it out of my pocket, accidentally knocking my head against the door as I was trying to open it at the same time. I went to the nurses' station, silently noting to myself that it was Madison who was calling me. "Hey," I called to the nurse behind the receiving area. The nurse was a young male, slight build with olive skin and sporting a buzz cut. He gave me a grin as he shuffled some papers. "How can I help you?"

"Is Dr. Stanley in the operating room? She's got a surgery in like three hours."

"Uh," he looked hesitant to give up the location of the doctor, "And who's asking?"

"Her niece," I answered, glancing at my phone again, "Clara Evans."

"Mother's side or father's?"

I couldn't believe this asshole. He was actually trying to force me to state a little bit of the family history. "Father's side. Their parents had a divorce, Dad kept their father's family name, Irene changed her last name to Stanley, her mother's maiden name." He nodded, and I scoffed, "What the hell was that for, you ass? Just tell me where my aunt is."

"Yeah, she's in. Obviously you're not allowed inside the operating room, so you gotta wait a few hours. And, if you must know," he smirked at me, "Irene dated my sister, she told me about their parent's divorce. Just wanna make sure you're really her niece."

"Great," I forced a smile, "Hope I made your day." I turned and raced to the elevator, closing it and catching a glimpse of the nurse opening his mouth-probably to remind me that I wasn't allowed to barge into the operating room.


	4. Chapter 4

Part two! I'm spoiling you guys. Ha. Please review!

* * *

 **Ch 3: The cars are moving like half a mile an hour (Part II)  
**

There was still a lot of adrenaline running through my body as the elevator doors closed and starting moving up. I was the only one boarding the elevator, so I leaned on my back and tried to catch my breath. Suddenly, there was another vibration on my phone again.

"Hello?"

"Clara!" It was Madison. "Where the hell are you?"

"At the hospital, my aunt—she won't listen to me so I'm just gonna drag her reluctant ass out of here." I could hear Alicia and Nick talking loudly in the background. "Why?"

"Nick, he's hurting right now. I might have to drive to school—there must be something there to relieve the pain."

I sighed, sprinting out of the elevator trying to find the operating room. "Okay. I'll be there as soon as I can."

Madison sighed at her end of the line, voice dropping down to a whisper, "I was thinking…you know…since you're at the hospital you can get Nick some prescriptions. It's really bad, Clara. Nick needs it now."

"Shit." I caught sight of the door leading to the operating room, wondering if I should choose to take my aunt and the pills, or just choose one. The first was the mostly like answer I'd choose, so I ran towards the operating room. Barging in, I tried looking for my aunt in a room full of doctors wearing their labcoats and masks.

"Hey," one assisting nurse said, "You're not allowed here!"

"Where's Dr Irene Stanley?" I called out to them, eyeing the patient on the table. If worse comes to worst, the person would not survive the operation (because of me) and reanimate into that vile thing we encountered earlier.

"She's not here," the head surgeon answered. There was a scalpel in his hand and an annoyed look on his face, "You are unauthorized to enter an operating room, young lady!"

"Yeah, but where is she?"

The previous assisting nurse marched angrily towards me, and I stepped back until my back was against the door. "You listen here you big brat," she pointed a gloved finger at me, "This is some serious violation. Now, I want you to leave this area and when I see you again, there's going to be hell to pay."

"But Irene Stan—"

"She was transferred to the labor ward," she answered distastefully. I nodded and dashed out of the room.

The labor ward was good—better even. I was given the perfect opportunity to get my aunt and get Nick the medication he needed. Most of the time, women in labor brought prescribed medicines along with them when they get admitted to the hospital. If luck was on my side, I didn't have to go look for the medicine elsewhere. But if there wasn't anything, the labor ward was on the same level as the pharmacy. Running as fast as I can, I scowled when I passed by the pharmacy—there were no lights on and it was too quiet. I didn't have the time to ponder on it, I took a left and two rights until I saw the labor ward. Running towards it, I pushed it open, only to find it locked. A face peered through one of the round windows and I yelped in surprise. It was as my aunt, looking very surprised and alarmed when she saw me. She opened the door for me and when I got in, I saw her barricade the handle with a thick metal bar.

"What the hell are you still doing here?" she exclaimed at me. I was panting in front of her and I raised a hand to her shoulder.

"We need to go, now. I'm not leaving without you here."

What she said next brought chills down my spine. "We can't leave," she said, shaking her head, "The hospital's in quarantine." She looked down to her phone.

"What?" I half-yelled at her, "What do you mean 'the hospital's in quarantine'? The people on level 3 are still operating on a patient!"

"Several patients, they um…" she looked at me, and I saw how pale she had become. My aunt's voice sounded so shaky and distraught and I was afraid of what she was going to say, "Some of them died about two hours ago. Got sent to the morgue. When I got here there was a lot of screaming downstairs—by the morgue. The dead," there were tears in her eyes and she shook them away. I held her shoulders to support her, feeling her quake in fear, "they were _eating_ them."

"Holy shit," I made a small sound, letting her go to scan the room. It was empty. "The others left?"

"They said they were going to check it out. They called me a while ago, told me the hospital's going to be quarantined any second now and that I should stay here and make sure no one gets in."

"We should leave," I wrapped my hand around my aunt's wrist, tugging her outside, "We're going to the desert, just stay away from the people for now."

"Clara have you been listening to me? The hospital's quarantined! We need to wait for the cops to get here."

I whispered to her, "We need to leave now before this room gets pried open by those things. There has to be a way out, Aunt Irene."

My aunt nodded. "The back entrance. Nobody uses it really, but they may have locked it down too."

"Should we take that chance?" She nodded. "It's the only chance we have. Now, the morgue's at the left wing and the exit's at the right. We go directly—run if we have t—"

"Wait," I closed my eyes, remembering that Madison had asked me to get some meds for Nick. "Nick, he's in withdrawal. I need some medicines."

Aunt Irene's lips drew to a thin line before sighing, "Alright. I'll go get some Vicodin and Methadone by the pharmacy."

"What about me?"

"You go down and get inside the OPD, call the cops and hide under the nurses' station," she took out a bunch of keys from her coat, one of them the keys to the car. "If I'm not back in ten minutes you leave."

I looked at her with wide eyes, "Are you serious? I came here all the way to get you and you expect me to leave you here?"

"Fine," she turned around, opening the door cautiously. When she saw that the coast was clear, she moved outside and gestured me to follow her. In her hand was the metal bar she had used to barricade the door. "If I'm not back in ten minutes, go and wait for me in the car. Alright?"

I nodded, slightly jumping on my feet to prepare myself with all the running. I leaned in and kissed her on the cheek. "Be careful."

"You too." She smiled at me, before turning around and went on the opposite direction.

I ran towards the staircase, trying to not make a lot of noise. I approached the stairs and leaped off two steps at a time. When I reached the low ground I was sweating bullets, my heart racing more erratic than ever—mostly because I was fearful that the hospital was overrun with the undead. I sprinted down the hallway and took a left, letting a frightened yell out when I almost bumped into one of them.

"Holy fuck!" There was a sound of a metal, and I raised my hands up, relieved to see that it was a cop and not a dead patient. It didn't even bother me at first that he was pointing his gun at me. "Don't shoot!"

The cop lowered his gun and approached me, "Miss, you have to leave the hospital. We need to isolate all the sick people."

I nodded at him, "My aunt's up inside the pharmacy, we have to go get her." But the officer grabbed my arm and pulled me along with him, "We have to get you home."

"I have a car," I told him, "I can drive." If I couldn't wait for my aunt at the OPD, I might as well wait for her in the car.

When we reached the parking lot, I had taken notice a lot of police cars parked outside the hospital, patients and civilians were bustling out of the building. I removed myself from his grasp and leaned against the car door on the driver's side. "What are you doing?" he asked.

"I'm waiting for my aunt," I answered him matter-of-factly, crossing my arms over my chest. Then I felt my phone ringing—thankfully it was my aunt. "Hello, Aunt Irene? I'm waiting here in the parking lot."

"Clara," her voice was eerily calm, "You have to go now. I'm with a friend—Bethany and we were just talking to a cop, everything's under control now."

"What?" I couldn't believe what she was saying. The last time we were together, she looked and sounded like she was scared shitless and now she just acts like what was happening was just a minor dengue outbreak. "'Everything's under control'? What does that even mean?"

"We're just isolating the patients—we're not quarantining the hospital after all. You head home, and I promise to drive there as soon I can, okay?"

I gritted my teeth, annoyed by her. Why did she sound like this wasn't a huge deal at all? "You better come home fast, okay? And the Methadone?"

"It's here," she reassured me. "Bethany's driving me to your house later, okay? Take care."

I stared at my phone in shock, mouth dropped in disbelief. The police officer was still waiting for me to leave, so I opened the car door and slammed it shut when I got inside. Groaning in frustration, I turned the engine on and drove home, eyeing the hospital from the rearview.

I was feeling pissed. Having seen what has been happening—what I guessed the flu was doing to the people—it scared me so much. But by the sound of aunt's voice, her calm and collected voice, it made me sound like a paranoid person. Granted, she hadn't seen it first hand, but is it too much for her to believe me when I told her about the potential outbreak?

The sun had set when I pulled over Madison's house. Our house was silent as ever and I checked my pockets for the piece of paper Aunt Irene gave me. It was a different number than what my parents' gave me, so maybe I could call them later. I saw Alicia waiting for me by the door, holding it open for me. "Where's your aunt?"

"She'll be here later," I told her. The lamps were dim and the house looked so gloomy, then I noticed Nick sprawled on the sofa. "Is he okay?" I whispered to his sister.

"He's not enjoying it," she remarked. "You got the medicine?"

I shook my head, telling her that my aunt would bring them here later when she arrived. "Is Madison here?"

"Yeah, she just got back from the school."

I nodded, moving to the cupboards to look for some candles, "Turn off the lamps and light these candles." Alicia put her palm up in confusion, "Why?"

"Because," I sighed, thinking some half-assed explanation, "the power's coming out soon. I heard." She still looked confused when I handed her the candles, but lit them anyway.

I moved to the living room, looking to see if Nick was doing fine. He was lying on the sofa, his eyes closed. I tried calling the number my aunt gave me but it turned out the phone lines were down. I went to Alicia's room to retrieve my charger but as I plugged it, it wasn't charging. Apparently, the power really was out. Silently cursing, I moved back to the living room and dropped my phone on the table, causing him open his eyes. "Hey," he greeted me, rubbing one eye. "You okay?"

"Hey," I replied, moving to the end of the sofa where his head was and raised his torso a bit so that I could sit down and gently placed his head on my lap. I leaned back, finally letting the adrenaline and fear wash away, for now. "I'll live. You? Still in pain?"

"Yeah. Where's your aunt?" He mumbled. One of his hands moved to reach for one of mine, dragging it to his hair. I gave a small smile and ran my hand through his hair. "She'll be here later," I repeated what I told Alicia.

He hummed in approval, reaching for my hand and squeezing it. Few seconds later, his breathing was even. He was asleep.

Madison came out of the bathroom, looking relieved to see my tired face leaning on the sofa. "Where's Irene?"

"She'll be here later," I sighed and answered the exact same thing, "She's got the Methadone."

Madison let out an audible 'thank god', and thanking me as well before pulling out her phone and started calling Travis. Apparently he went to his son's house to pick them up, but they were stuck in the freeway. I closed my eyes and tried to rest for a minute.

It was a hell of a day and I didn't know what I would do if this was to continue for much longer.


	5. Chapter 5

**Ch 4: I wonder what my life is going to be if it's gone**

"Is the water running?"

I looked at Madison who had a glass in her hand. Nodding once, I dropped my head back to the table, resting the left side of my face on the surface so that I could see Madison. Nick was asleep for not long and when he woke, I removed myself from the couch and went to the kitchen.

We didn't enjoy the silence. The house was arid, from the windows and doors being locked and bolted. "Travis should have been here by now."

I frowned. "So should my aunt."

Aunt Irene didn't call me, didn't text me. I had no idea what happened at the hospital, if she had bolted and hid in her house. My thoughts reached my parents and I almost pushed myself off the chair to contact them when I remembered that phone lines kept coming up and down every few minutes. Instead, I groaned loud, complaining about the heat. Life would've been a whole lot easier if I could call my parents, or Aunt Irene. Or even my friends in college, just to see if they were alright. Far away, we heard the sirens ringing.

Madison stood across the table from me. She had filled the glass with water, but she didn't drink it. She produced a plastic containing a small amount of medicines, and I raised a brow at her. "The hell's that?"

"Oxycodone. It's…uh…not much, but it'll do." Madison was looking at me in a weird way. She looked like she wanted me to reassure her that it would have to do _for the meantime_. I nodded at her, silently promising her to get ahold of my aunt.

"That's not really a lot, Maddie."

"I know," her voice dropped, "We just have enough to get him to the desert. Let's wish your aunt's arriving soon." I voiced out my agreement, turning to glance at my phone on the table. I reached for it, just as it lit up and vibrated. It was Aunt Irene. Madison was smiling as she excused herself to the living room, giving me space to talk to my aunt. I smiled back at her in gratitude. Madison has always been someone I admired, a strong-willed woman who loved her children very much. She was hardworking and determined, and she has always looked after me even when my parents were around. She was my second mother and one of my role models and has done a lot for me than I could count.

I hurriedly hit the green button, heart beating rapidly as I tried to listen for my aunt's voice. "Hello? Aunt Irene?"

There was static on the other line then I heard my aunt. Her voice was garbled. "Clara…hello…?"

"Aunt Irene! Can you hear me?"

"Calling…other…calling…your other…ph—"

"I can't hear you! You're choppy!"

"Calling…other…phone…" The line went dead.

I was grasping my phone tightly, trying to let my aunt's words sink in. Was she alright? She didn't tell me where she was, or if she was fine, all she said was _calling your other phone_.

"Holy shit," I cursed out loud. I had another phone at home, but I didn't use it as much as the one I was using as of the moment. My parents and I liked to call it our house phone. The thought of my parents and not knowing if they were fine made me physically wince.

The house phone—last time I saw it—was on top of the small coffee table next to dad's favorite chair. On the balcony. He loved sitting there in the morning, watching the sun rising as he sipped on his coffee and read the papers. I could retrieve my phone and arrive unscathed (I hoped) in less than ten minutes. So, I moved to the living room to see Nick crushing the Oxycodone using the bottom of the glass his mother gave him. Alicia glanced my way, saying nothing. I clicked my tongue at Nick, and he looked up at me, "It absorbs faster."

"I know." I watched him drink the solution. Nick looked a little better than he was an hour ago, but I knew the pills weren't enough. The sooner I got to the house and contact my aunt, the better. I whispered his name softly to try to get his attention, taking advantage of the fact that Alicia had her earphones on. He stood up and walked towards me, raising a hand and wrapping it around my arm.

"I have to go."

Nick looked confused. "What? Wh—where are you going?"

"My aunt's trying to contact me with this phone," I raised my phone for him to see, "But the lines are going crazy. She's been calling my other phone but it's in the house."

"What—Are…are you crazy, Clara?" His grip on my arm tightened a little bit, hardly noticeable. "It's not safe out there."

"The house is literally right next to your house, remember? I'm not going in through the front door—I'm not crazy."

The way he looked at me right after I said those words, it was the way he looked at me when we were happy and sober. Since he left, I didn't think that the both of us were in full control of our lives, we were helpless and desperate to find solace and peace. But Nick was looking at me like he was now again _in_ my life, he was involved and he knew how much of my life he was a part of. I loved him so much, but he was gone for a long time and has lived a different life—loved a different person—and he should be made responsible for his actions.

"Okay. Okay, Clara…if you wanna go, I'll go with you." I shook my head at him, "No, Nick. Go watch your sister. I'll be back in ten minutes."

Nick sighed, looking down. The way he was moving, slow and calculating, meant that he was about to say something serious, important. "I was hoping we could talk."

What he said made me blink in surprise. I knew that we were going to talk about it at some point, but I always imagined it happening in the desert, or someplace else. I was surprised that he was fast enough to notice that we needed to talk about what happened. But how? Where would you even start? I was growing twitchy and excited to contact my aunt, but I couldn't just run away.

It didn't feel right, running away from Nick.

"Nick, please," I placed a hand on top of his hand, the one holding my arm. "We'll talk about it later, or soon. Okay? I just need my aunt here as soon as possible."

He didn't say anything, he didn't even nod. He let go of my arm, and I gave him a small smile, before leaving their house using the back door.

With the electricity out, I could hardly see anything outside. The moon provided me a little help to navigate around the backyard. The tall picket fence was dad's idea. Mom had wanted just the typical white picket fence, but dad wanted something taller—it made us all feel a lot more secure. When Nick and I first started dating, we didn't exactly announce it to everyone. We hung out on each others' houses during the day, sometimes even staying for dinner, but during nighttime we didn't really get to see each other. I was surprised one time when he excitedly called me in the middle of the night, saying that he's coming to my house to review for our exam the next day. I had informed him that my father had placed some sophisticated yard security alarm system and he'd have to use the back door ( _"This would be a lot simpler if you know parkour,"_ I had teased him). He told me to watch him through out my window. Then, to my utter surprise, he swung a small part of the fence, just small enough to fit a person, open like a door. He then had smugly told me that he placed some hinges on them so that he could sneak in to my house any time he wanted.

Thank God for Nick. We used that fence a lot of times and I, for one, knew that it was heavy. We hadn't been able to use it a lot now, so I had no choice but to blindly test out each quadrant—pushing them forcefully to make them move. Simultaneously, I was trying to look for the hinges Nick had set up about five years ago. Finally locating it, I pushed slowly, hearing the wood creak, and squeezed myself to the other side.

Having to depend on my phone's light was hard. With all of those _things_ out there, I knew that I shouldn't attract any attention, so I tried so hard not to just use the phone's flashlight and just set my phone's brightness to the minimum. I opened the back door, noting that I should also get whatever food and clothes I could find. I was overcame with relief when, indeed, my phone was on the coffee table. I sat down and opened it, cursing mentally when the battery was less than 10%. Still, taking my chance, I phoned my aunt. I wasn't even surprised when she didn't answer, there was no signal. So, I strolled through the voicemails, hoping she left one for me saying she was on her way.

 _"Clara, it's your aunt. I'm calling your other phone, but apparently…you're out of coverage area? Where are you?"_

 _"Clara, please, call me."_

The latest voicemail was from an unregistered number, which I had guessed was Aunt Irene.

 _Clara? Yeah, it's Eunice. I couldn't reach your other cell._

My brows furrowed when I heard my friend. Were they alright? Did they know what was happening? It was sent about 20 minutes ago.

 _You remember that we have an exam tomorrow, right? Fuckin' physics, man. It's Kirchhoff's Rule and we agreed on staying over there for tonight, right? Mr. Jay just threatened to fail me in this course because I didn't know how to measure the current using the breadboard and volty—volto..meter…thingy, I don't know. Anyway, have you heard from Dawn? She was hospitalized earlier, got the stomach flu or something. I'm picking Shannon up now and we'll be there in like 30 minutes, tops. 'kay? See ya._

My jaw dropped in shock, my mind was reeling. I was looking at the phone's screen blankly, not sure how to react. My friends had no idea what was going on? They had no idea what shit I've experienced that day. I was so caught up dealing with the fact that there was something definitely wrong with the world today while others were doing their usual routines, their 9-to-5s that they thought the freeway riots and the blackouts were just part of a bad day. But I was ahead of them, I was already trying to adjust with the fact that maybe there was something wrong and it would cost me the familiarity of the world, and would give rise to a new one.

I was so caught up trying to convince myself that the dead are walking the earth but other people just couldn't seem to notice it.

* * *

First of all, thank you to everyone who has read, followed, favorited and reviewed this fanfiction. I did say that this would be done asap but I dragged it for a long time and now s2 is upon us and I haven't even finished this. So thank you for the support I've been getting.

Second, I'm really sorry it took some time for me to update, I've been really busy with school (and with BvS and upcoming Civil War lol)

Third, if I'm lucky (and y'all too), I could post another update in 20 hours. Longer and will cover up the rest of episode three. I didn't want Clara to just stick around with the Clarks and play monopoly and stuff, I want her to be doing a lot of things simultaneous to the events happening in the show. What do you think so far? Any comments, please write them down!

Lastly, Clara's friends are named after my beloved roommates, my true friends here in college. Also, "Mr. Jay" did say (more like announce to the whole class) that he'd give me a failing grade for not knowing how to measure current with breadboard & voltometer. Lmao what? So maybe I'm filing a dropping form tomorrow, idk.

Let me know what you all think!


	6. Chapter 6

Hello, guys! So, as promised, part two to chapter four.

 **This encompasses Clara's stay in her house. Yes, she might have stayed longer than ten minutes. Sadly, no Nick, Alicia or Madison in this chapter. Also, this didn't include the rest of FTWD Episode Three, so I decided to just split Chapter Four into 3 parts. Hopefully, I could finish Chapter Four tomorrow. Let me know how you like it!**

* * *

 **Ch 4: I wonder what my life is going to be if it's gone (Part II)**

I spent a good while trying to find the phone's charger. I was sitting by the balcony, eyeing my charging phone every now and then, waiting for my aunt to call. I noted that it had been more than ten minutes since I left Maddie's house, I scrunched my nose in irritation. I hated being late. Our homeroom teacher in highschool, Mr. Phillips, always seemed to have enough time to sit us all down and sermon us about punctuality and arriving _before_ the meeting time. That routine went all year round, and I realized when I entered college that I had grown used to being punctual and absolutely _hated_ it when I became late. If I were to meet my friends at 3 in the afternoon, I leave by 2:40 and arrive at the meeting place 5 minutes before 3. _"It's always better to wait than to be late,"_ Mr. Phillips used to say.

The stairs opened to a large receiving area of the second floor of our house. There was a study table in the middle of it, and on the corners were drawers and lamps. Two rooms—my parents' and mine—faced the stairs, with a walk-in closet adjoining the rooms. The balcony was to the right of the stairs.

The sound of the car engine in front of the house wasn't at all comforting. I, for one, knew that it wasn't Travis, nor was it Aunt Irene. It was Eunice and Shannon, seemingly oblivious to the blackout and the riots and the dead rising and attacking people. The only light source I had turned on was the lamp inside my room, which was thankfully bright enough to let me find my way around the top floor of the house. I used my other phone's light to navigate my way downstairs.

"Clara?" Eunice called as she shut her car door a bit too loud. Shannon was already inside the house, setting her bag down, complaining about the lack of light. "Yo, Clars, what's the deal? It's like the whole neighborhood's electricity got cut."

"Eunice, come on, just get the fuck in!" I whisper-shouted at her. Grumbling, she entered the house and I hurriedly locked the door down, telling both of them to go up to my room. "Guys," I frowned at them as they settled on my bed, turning off the lights of the room that they had turned on, "Just keep the lights down, okay?"

Shannon didn't look up from her phone. "Why, what's wrong?"

"You heard about the riot on the freeway?"

"Yeah, but why are you acting all paranoid?" Eunice asked. "It's happening like once every two months."

Paranoid, that was how I sounded to them. When their entire day was spent looking at videos of the freeway shooting, the "disease" that has been going around, topped with the usual loads of schoolwork, me reacting that way I did made it look like I was overreacting. I was thinking of whether I should sit them down and just tell them what I had experienced that day, all the crazy shit I've seen—or just let them stay over and study like tomorrow was just another school day. Like somehow, we'd still be running in late and tired to take our physics exam despite dead people moving on about attacking others.

"Okay," I breathed out, taking a seat at the end of my bed, facing my two friends, "I need to tell you something. And I'm going to ask you to believe me, okay?"

Shannon raised an eyebrow. "What, like a gossip?"

"Love life?"

"Sex life?" My two friends giggled, and I told them to be quiet, growing a little more irritated by the minute. Groaning, I shook my head. "This isn't exactly something we'd talk about when we're at the cafeteria."

"Oh shit, that reminds me!" Eunice jumped out of the bed, "We stopped by a minimart and bought a lot of food!"

Shannon followed her downstairs, "Just wait. Eunice got two jugs of Welch. Be right back!"

I opened Shannon's bag, taking out the physics textbook she brought to study. Knowing the two of them, they rarely ever opened their notebooks or textbooks until the night before the exam. _Maximum retainment_ , Eunice had said. I would argue with them, but sometimes cramming did work. I opened the chapter on Kirchhoff's Rules and dog-eared it, placing it on the bed. I moved out to the balcony, checking my charging phone for reception. There was a bar, just one, it was a very slim chance but I dialed my aunt anyway. I could hear Shannon and Eunice clamoring outside as I waited to hear from my aunt. There wasn't an answer, just an automated voice saying that the number was out of coverage area. Sighing, I replaced the phone on the table, walking out of the room as I heard heavy footsteps thumping up the stairs.

"Clara!" Shannon called from below, "Will you help me with the grape juice please? I'm carrying my pillow."

I ran downstairs to meet her, unable to stop the laughter that came out of my mouth when I saw her carrying two large pillows, hugging them to her chest. "What would you need the pillows for?"

She shrugged, "Can't really sleep without 'em." We reached the second floor, dumping the load onto the study table. "I don't get it," Shannon complained, sitting on the table, wiping the sweat off her forehead, "Why don't you turn on the lights and the AC? It's fuckin' hot in here."

I bit my lip at her question, not knowing where to start explaining. "That's what I was going to talk to you about—there's a lot of weird shit going on."

"Weird shit? Like what, the riots?" She shrugged, "Clars, that's not really 'weird'. I mean, yeah, not weird here in LA maybe but—"

The sound of the car door slamming shut and Eunice's loud cursing made us turn our heads. We raced downstairs and Shannon hurried to Eunice. I was a bit hesitant to go outside at first, mentally cursing myself for leaving my phones upstairs. I couldn't risk turning on the lights—they were too bright. I stepped outside to see Eunice holding two paper bags close to her chest, cursing. "Shannon, help me out here. I locked my keys in." Shannon went to get the paper bags from Eunice and just stood beside her as Eunice tried to reach for her keys through her half-opened window. From where I stood, I could see something small running towards us. Before I could panic, I was greeted by Ace, the Dawsons' German shepherd.

"Ace!" I excitedly called out to him, "Come here boy!" The dog was very friendly, he recognized me whenever I walked pass their house, barking and wagging his tail. Sometimes, he liked to stay with me, scratching at the front door and whimpering until we let him in. His owners didn't really mind, as long as we return him at the end of the day. Now, he was pressing himself closer to me as I ran my hands all over his fur, scratching behind his ears. When I reached his sides, however, I felt something wet coat my hands. It was dark, so I didn't know what it was, silently hoping that it was just water. "Where's Peter and Bobby, Ace? Where are your owners?"

"Oh my god, Clara, they look like they've been shot!"

My head shot up in alarm, just as two people I knew came to view. Peter and Bobby Dawson were walking up towards the car, their clothing stained dark. From what Shannon had exclaimed, it might have been blood. I watched the two of them suspiciously, noticing how they wobbled as they walk, like they were drunk as fuck. Then, like puzzle pieces falling into place—the bloodstains and the serious lack of coordination—a shiver ran down my spine. Peter growled as he stumbled faster towards my friends and I saw Eunice successfully pulling her keys out of the car.

"Eunice! Get in the fucking car!" I exclaimed. They both turned to me, as did Peter and Bobby, and then I heard Shannon scream as she saw Bobby trying to grab her, his mouth open and growls coming out of it. Eunice was screaming as she got into her car, and I barely had time to see her locking all the doors when Shannon crashed into me. Bobby was walking fast towards us and I pushed Shannon inside the house, telling her to get herself and the dog to my room. Bobby was at the door now, desperately trying to push his way inside, snarling viciously. I could hear my blood pumping, my heart beating was so hard I could practically see the erratic beating if I stare at my chest. I was using my shoulder to push the door close, trying to ignore Bobby's nails scratching it as his weight rested against it as well, trying to push it towards me, to open it. When I heard Shannon calling my name, I told myself that in the count of three I would abandon the door, sprint up the stairs and get into my room and lock it. My phone was still charging on the balcony, but I couldn't risk a few precious seconds. I was breathing heavily, my eyes heavy with tears, almost ready to fall. I exhaled three times, gave a small nod at myself and gave the door one last forceful push before I turned my back and ran up the stairs. My throat was dry and sweat was pricking my eyes and when I reached the top floor, I ran towards my room and locked it. Tears started to fall down my cheeks as I whispered to Shannon to move to the walk-in closet.

"Clara, what was that? What's happening?" She asked, her voice sounded so scared and panicky, and I wanted to comfort her but I, too, was livid and out of my mind. I shook my head, "They were dead—Bobby and Peter. The bloodstains…they…they somehow came back to life."

"What?" She exclaimed, breathless.

"Reanimated corpses." I whispered. We were trapped inside the walk-in closet, scared and frantic. The only relief I got was that I didn't hear any sound from downstairs. "Shannon, you got your phone?" She nodded, holding her phone up, motioning to open it and I told her to make sure the brightness was set to the minimum. "Now," I gestured to the bottom drawers, "Dad's got a pocket knife here, just one. But we also have scissors, which are big and sharp enough."

"What the fuck do you want me to do with a scissors?" Shannon asked me.

I looked at her pointedly. "Those things chasing us earlier? They might attack you. So unless you wanna let yourself get killed, help me find the goddamned knife and scissors."

"Eunice haven't left," she noted shakily. I nodded in agreement as I rummaged the drawers, silently hoping that she was fine. We didn't hear her engines, nor broken glass and screaming, which was, as far as I could tell, a good sign.

"Wait a minute," I handed her the scissors, noticing that the dog wasn't with us, "Where's Ace?"

My friend looked confused for a second before realizing that I was talking about the dog. "He ran towards the kitchen."

I didn't say anything, but I pulled her to the corner, hiding ourselves along with the clothes in hangers. "Clara," Shannon began, "Did you lock the door?" She pointed at the door warily. I shook my head at her, "Doors lock from the outside. But I locked my room's door."

Shannon gave an audible whimper, gesturing to the other door, leading to my parents' room. "Well, what about that door?"


	7. Chapter 7

**And chapter update! All you need to know:  
**

 **1) This was very rushed, and I couldn't finish it because I'm too tired and sleepy**

 **2) This will be updated for the fourth and final part of chapter 4. I'm sorry this is drawn out for too long.**

 **Anyway, drop in your comments, violent reactions and I'll attend to you all in less than 24 hours!**

* * *

 **Ch 4: I wonder what my life is going to be if it's gone (Part III)**

And I ran. So hard that I was scared I'd trip over something I couldn't see in the dark. I was clutching my phone, charger and pocket knife on one hand, ready to push the heavy picket fence aside to get to the Clarks' backyard. I was relieved to hear Ace barking, atleast he knew where to go get help. The picket fence creaked and my muscles strained in effort, but I made it to the other side. I was sprinting towards the back door when I almost crashed into Nick. Madison and Alicia were right behind him.

"Clara!" Nick exclaimed, and he placed his hands on my forearms, "Are you okay?"

"Yeah, I'm fine," I took a glance at Madison, who was holding a flashlight, and to Alicia who looked terribly confused, "Where are you going?"

"The Trans, they've got a gun," Madison answered in a low voice. I looked at her, confused, "Why would you need a gu-?"

"No time, let's go," Nick reached out for the flashlight and led the way to the fence separating their house and the Trans'. I grabbed onto Madison's top, slightly pulling. "What's happening?"

"Peter Dawson is dead," she answered me, "He's outside the lawn."

My mouth dropped in realization, I had forgotten about Peter. Bobby had kept us pretty occupied earlier, but I didn't have the time to tell Madison as she was hastily following Nick, who was climbing up the pile of things they would often use to go over the fence.

"What is happening?" I heard the youngest Clark ask in confusion. She knew I had heard her, and she was hoping I could fill her in, but I didn't. It wasn't the most opportune time to let her know that the world has gone to shit. Nick held his hand out for me to hold on to as I climbed down into Susan's garden. I nodded my thanks and he sent a smile before he turned around and led the way out of the garden.

Susan's garden was like a trellis maze. She liked planting eggplants, hydrangeas and all other climbing plants. I was never close with Susan, unlike Alicia, but we were pleasant. Alicia was a few feet ahead and I was going to run to them in order to catch up when I remembered Ace barking. He was barking _at_ Peter Dawson, his previous owner inside Madison's house. And if I recalled correctly, they didn't close the door when we left. I closed my eyes, cursing silently as I thought of whether I should just follow Alicia or close the back door of the house. The house, our sanctuary, the safe place. If Peter ever got in, we wouldn't have it anymore. I started to climb up the fence when something further reinforced my decision. Travis. He should be back tonight, or anytime soon and we'd leave for the desert. But if he came home not knowing about Peter…

I made my way into the backyard and raced towards the house. I could hear Ace barking just outside the glass door. "Hey Ace," I called out to him, "Let's go inside, buddy." To my irritation, the dog didn't seem to hear me and just kept on barking. Finally, I looked over to the direction he was barking at, to gauge how close Peter was from us. If he was very close, then the Clarks would have to use the main door to get inside the house. I bit back a yelp when a saw Peter's staggering body just about ten feet from me. Ace was running towards him, barking loudly before I could stop him. Panicking, I got inside the house and closed the door and replaced the curtains. I threw my phone, charger and knife on the sofa (the lights were out and I was relieved that none of them fell to the floor) and hurriedly wiped the sweat off my face. The only light source I had was the moonlight, and with the curtain blocking it, I could only see things a few feet away from me.

Ace's barking just got louder and it scared me. Did…those things eat animals too? I was convincing myself that _No_ , they wouldn't eat animal meat. It didn't want to eat Ace. Then, I saw Ace's silhouette in front of me. He was still barking at Peter, but I couldn't see his silhouette. Taking it as an opportunity, I opened the door slightly to let Ace in.

"Ace!" I whisper-shouted, "In here, boy." The dog couldn't fit into the space I had allotted for him so I pushed the glass door a little bit more to let him in. Just then, Peter's growling seemed to have come out of nowhere and he was _squeezing himself into_ the house.

"Jesus, fuck!" I cursed, and just bolted to the front door, not even thinking of grabbing my pocket knife to defend myself. There was a small dividing wall from the front door to the living room and I leant against it, trying to listen for Ace's barking and Peter's footsteps. Maybe it was because of the dark that he hadn't seen me run, maybe it was something else. Fortunately for me, I didn't hear Peter's footsteps. Unfortunately, I didn't hear Ace either. Bile started to rise from my throat as I had imagined the worst.

The sound of a car pulling into the driveway made me jolt. Was it Travis? My heart was beating erratically, anticipating someone I knew would open the door.

"Madison?"

I almost cried out in relief when I heard Travis' voice. He opened the door and was walking towards me, looking unaware that I was there, pressed against the wall. Behind him were his wife and son, Liza (I think) and Chris. I didn't really know them, but Chris used to spend weekends with Travis. We weren't really friends but we would give nods and greetings when we see each other.

"Travis." I held out a hand to alert him of my presence.

"Clara? Where's Madison?"

"They…they went to Susan's house to get a gun…Tr—" I was falling behind him trying to tell him where his girlfriend was when I remembered Peter and Ace. "Travis, Travis, no!"

I could hear sounds coming from Peter (I assumed the figure in front of us was him) but without the lights, I couldn't see clearly what was happening. Chris must have sensed my urgency to stop Travis, as he held onto one of his father's arm. "Dad."

Travis pushed him away, causing Chris right shoulder to bump into my left and we exchanged glances. His father was moving closer to the source of the sound, ignoring my calls for him to stop and Liza's. Travis was so close to the figure when the power came back, light flooding the entire house. I finally saw what was in front of me and I gave a yell of terror. It was Ace, indeed, and Peter. Peter _eating_ Ace. Munching on him like he's been starving to death. Ace's lifeless eyes.

"Liza, get them in the car now. Get out of here."


	8. Chapter 8

**AS PROMISED!**

 **AUTHOR'S NOTE:** I started this fanfic promising to finish it within a month, but a lot of things happened and I've been busy. I'm really sorry for the let down. Next, I really didn't expect this to receive the attention it has been receiving and I'm beyond grateful to each and every single one of you. Thank you to everyone who has favorited, followed and reviewed this fanfic! It's the second most favorited and followed Fear the Walking Dead fanfic and everytime I get an alert my heart gets a little bigger. So thank you to Anonymouspostings, GoatEatingToilet, Shannon, CuteSango07, cynthia, sofiaaelisabeth, karla, jollysaintnick, Mae, Ruby, xxGreywind, WriteBrain, Nirvana14, Scout out, XxXLIFEafterDEATHXxX, Ceruleanrainblues, Noel, Selena, QueenDisney, MissTeller-Ortiz-Dixon, Reader-Writer Hybrid, anr017, SleepySiren.

Please let me know your suggestions, comments, reactions, via review or PM.

And to answer the latest question: what indeed happened to Shannon and Eunice? Yes, the time skip was intentional, because I believe what has transpired will help Clara transition from one world to another. Also note how she would alternate from calling Peter by his name and by it, as it signifies that she doesn't yet have the grasp of what was happening and still _really really_ coming to grips with everything that's happening.

Thank you all!

* * *

 **Ch 4: I wonder what my life is going to be if it's gone (Part III)**

Peter heard us and moved away from Ace. He turned around to us and I couldn't believe what I saw. His face was smeared with blood and innards of his dog, eyes glassy and devoid of life. He was snarling as he advanced towards us. Travis, despite our protests, stepped forward to try to talk to Peter. "Peter? Hey, you're sick."

The thing hadn't said anything and was just staggering to get to Travis. "Come on, Peter, it's Travis."

"Dad, what are you doing?" Chris tried to grab his father but I held him back. "Stay away from him, Chris."

Then, Peter was trying to get to Travis, making them fall to the ground. I heard Chris and Liza's shouts and I almost stood there in fear. Peter was snarling at Travis, trying to lower his mouth to Travis' skin. I came back to my senses, I had to do something. I had to help Travis. A small glint on the corner of my eye caught my attention. My pocket knife. It was across the room, and without thinking I whizzed past the thing attacking Travis and scrambled for the knife. Travis was desperately trying to get it off of him when I gritted my teeth and stabbed Peter's shoulder. Could he feel the pain? If he was alive he'd feel it, the excruciating pain when stabbed in the shoulder. But all that did was turn his attention to me. When it stood up, Travis took the opportunity to push it against the wall. My knife, which was still embedded in its back, could be seen from the front, its tip glistening with blood.

"Travis!" I called out, "Push it out of the house!" Travis barely gave a nod as he gripped Peter's shoulders tight and slammed him on the glass door, just when, to my utter relief, Madison came in, holding a gun.

"No! Put the gun down." Travis said from behind his back, glancing at Madison for a while.

"Clara!" Nick turned to me, flashlight still in his hand, "Where the hell were you?"

I opened my mouth to answer when a man I didn't know took the shotgun from Madison and aimed it at Peter's head. A gunshot sounded and the bullet took off half of Peter's face. His left eye was displaced, his nose and lips were gone, just blood and tissue on where the half of the face was seconds ago. The man cocked the gun again and aimed it at Peter's forehead. I heard a resonating gunshot and Peter's brains blew off, smearing the curtains. His body fell to the floor.

The man glanced at us, before handing the gun over to Madison and got out of the house. I exhaled forcefully, "Who was that?"

Nick was holding my arm with his right hand, the flashlight in his left aimed towards Peter's corpse. Chris was barfing and vomit was threatening to come out of his mouth when he bumped into my shoulder and ran out the backyard. "Jesus Christ," I whispered, letting Nick pull my shaking body into the house.

Suddenly, a yell of help was heard and we all turned to the source of the sound. "Alicia!" I called, running outside and passed Chris, to climb over to Susan Tran's home. She was almost inside the fence, only her other leg was stuck. Something was pulling Alicia down. "Clara, help!" She screamed at me. I climbed up next to her, pulling her arm towards me. The thing was trying to pull her back to the Trans'. I extended my arm to pull on Alicia's leg, "Move your leg, Alicia!"

"I'm trying," she groaned.

Alicia hands flew to my shoulders to balance herself and her weight resting quite literally on my shoulders made me tip over. I gave out a shriek and fell to the ground, my back to the fence. Chris was rushing to Alicia's aid, helping her out and succeeding but then they also fell, right in front of me. Then, I felt someone pulling my hair. I gave out a yell, hands coming up to the hands pulling my hair and I was shocked with the cold hands stinging my own. "Help me!" I yelled at Alicia and Chris.

Travis, Madison, Liza and Nick got out of the house, and my eyes flew to Nick. Tears were coming out of my eyes from fear, and the pain of my hair getting pulled relentlessly. Nick rushed over, hitting the hands behind me with the flashlight repeatedly, and it finally let go. I could hear Chris shouting at his parents, and getting inside the house was just a flash in my memory. I had cold sweat, heart racing so fast I felt like I would cough out my heart and I felt Nick's hand on my hair. His arms were wrapped around me and I had buried my face in his chest. "You okay?" It was so soft I almost didn't hear it, but I nodded a little, still trying to calm myself.

I turned to look at Alicia, then to Travis and Madison's distressed faces, then to Liza. A hand was extended from the other side of the fence, and I saw the face of the person behind it. "Susan Tran? Oh god," I said shakily, knowing for a fact that she was as good as dead.

"She's sick," Liza commented. Travis moved closer to Susan, "Was she bitten?"

Madison shook her head, "I can't tell."

I pulled out of Nick's embrace, standing between him and his sister. "She's not sick!" I exclaimed, and they all turned to me. "It's just like Calvin, like those people at the hospital. The videos online? The flu did this, but…" I shook my head at them, "She's not sick."

"She's dead." Nick commented.

I couldn't take it anymore. I didn't want to stand there and tell them what has been happening frame by frame. The flu was killing people, causing them to die. They reanimate but without that person's memories, no. They—it reanimates into the shell of the person, attacking people, killing them, _eating_ them. The world has gone to the dogs. I raced back into the house and was surprised to see the man who shot Peter was standing by the sofa. "Help us."

"Who are you?" I raised a brow at him. He did not answer, but he gestured to the front door, asking me to follow him. I didn't want to trust him, I didn't even know him. But this man saved our lives, and I felt in debt. I followed him cautiously outside, leading us to the back of Travis' Ford.

"My wife," he gestured, "She's in pain."

I turned to see two women, one elderly—his wife, and one young. I assumed it was their daughter. She looked a little pleasant, and was kind enough to smile and greet me a good evening. "I'm Ofelia Salazar, this is my mother Griselda, and my father," I turned my head to her father, "Daniel."

"What happened to her?" I nodded to her mother. If she was bitten, then I knew what was going to happen.

"Her leg got pinned when scaffolding collapsed." Daniel explained.

"Okay," I gestured inside the house, "Just let her rest inside, I'm gonna go look for some painkillers."

Ofelia sent me a smile, "Thank you."

I searched the cupboards for anything that could relieve the pain, but all we had was aspirin. I gritted my teeth and searched every room, but came out fruitless. Nevertheless, I handed them aspirin and excused myself to the bathroom.

After quickly washing myself, ridding myself of the clothes I had worn, I stared at myself in the mirror. It has been a really long fucking day. Tears started forming in my eyes. The day started out as normal as it could be, and now…now everything was lost. _I_ was lost. The only thing I was concerned about when I woke up was how I'd live with myself knowing Nick had come back from the haze of drugs. I only thought of dealing with his drug problem and Gloria. All I ever had a problem with was how do I forgive someone who cheated on me? Now, it's not like that. I just didn't expect to wake up on the day of the Apocalypse.

A knock on the door brought me back. "Clara?" It was Nick. I sniffled, turned away from the mirror and wiped my eyes, "Yeah?"

"You alright?"

I nodded. "Yeah, I'm fine."

He didn't say anything. For a moment, I thought he'd left, but he rapped the door again. "Open the door, baby."

I opened my mouth to call him out. _Don't call me baby, did you think I forgot about your little expedition amidst the end of the world happening around us?_ But I stopped myself. I did not want to sound selfish. This isn't really about me anymore, not _just_ about me anyway. A lot of people are in this house tonight, some of them I do not even know, and I had to play well. I opened the door to see him waiting for me, a ghost of a smile on his face.

"What?" I asked him.

"We're leaving first thing tomorrow."

"Alright," I nodded at him, "Gotta get some sleep then."

He gestured to his room, "Come on."

I shook my head at him, "No…I—uh, I really want to stay with Alicia for tonight."

"Alicia's room is rented by the Salazars, she's in my room." Nick grinned a little, "Come on."

We walked in silence, I was getting really uncomfortable beside him. I could hear him breathe, almost feel his chest rise and fall…

"You still mad at me? About…Gl…Gloria?"

I clenched my jaw at the name. We were just outside his room, and I glanced to see Alicia sleeping in his bed. A blanket and pillow were on the floor. "Oh god, Nick, what do you fucking think?"

"Look Clara, I—I'm sorry, alright? I didn't—"

"Nick," I turned to face him, "To be honest, this isn't how I imagined this conversation to go. This isn't _where_ I want to have this conversation. Maybe…some other time."

He was looking at our feet, his eyebrows crinkled as he was thinking of words to say. He opened his mouth but I cut him off.

"Please, Nick."

He sighed, finally looking at me in the eye, nodded and gave me a tight-lipped smile. I smiled back, kissing his cheek.

I moved to lie down next to Alicia near the end of the bed so that I was in between her and Nick, who was on the floor. I had my back to Nick and placed my hands under my head, watching Alicia's sleeping face. Atleast, she didn't have to worry in her sleep. I willed myself to sleep, thinking about my parents, my aunt, my friends, and the sake of the entire world.


End file.
